Serena Spudich, MD, MA, is one of only a few neurologists in the United States with specialized training in infections of the nervous system and a clinical practice focusing on neurological issues in patients with HIV.

She primarily cares for patients with HIV who suffer from such neurological problems as cognitive disturbances, memory loss and infections. “Many of these are directly related to HIV,” she says. In addition, she consults with patients who have such infections of the nervous system as Lyme disease and West Nile virus, and those with general neurological disorders.

A professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine and division chief of neurological infections and global neurology, Dr. Spudich strongly believes patients can lead longer and healthier lives when HIV is diagnosed and treated early. “The example that one patient has proven to be cured of HIV, which was previously thought to be an ‘incurable’ disease, brings hope to the 37 million people worldwide infected with HIV, and to those with other chronic infections that impact the brain,” she says.